6 Ways to Celebrate New Years at Home

Spending New Years at home doesn’t have to be boring. Celebrating at home brings families together for quality time during the busy holiday season. It’s also an alternative to fighting traffic and crowds, and ensures everyone’s safety. Plus, not everyone wants to wait until midnight for a ball drop. Sound like a good plan? No matter the group size, here’s how to celebrate New Years at home.

New Years at Home: Have Fun and Avoid the Crowds

Watch Family Videos

Many families have old family movies. Or maybe videos on a laptop, phone or device. When was the last time everyone watched them?

Gather with loved ones, and plan an hour of home movies. Laugh and reminiscence about family members or funny moments caught on camera. For those who don’t have videos, pull out an old photo album. Talk about the people, events and memories, and make note of fashion and hairstyles. Kids may even get a history lesson, while adults remember the good times.

Play New Years Games

Before everyone arrives, gather photos. It’s time to use them! Host a year-in-review scavenger hunt, hide photos throughout the house and search for them.

Players can either use cards with the date and location on them, or have family members guess when and where it happened. Also try hiding 12 holiday-related treats around the house and let the group hunt them. These can include hats, noise-makers, candy, healthy snacks, firecrackers, sparklers, stickers and anything else for the countdown to New Year’s.

Try New Foods

Additionally, New Years traditions bring opportunities to try new foods. In the southern U.S., black-eyed peas and leafy greens are a popular custom. In some European countries, people eat round fruits for good luck and prosperity. Use your New Years at home event to try new recipes or different customs. Who doesn’t enjoy a tasty new dish or dessert? Learn more about New Year traditions around the world.

Make a Toast

The holiday also provides an opportunity to show thanks. Pull out special glasses and fill them with favorite beverages. Each family member can share what they learned, accomplished goals, or their best experience throughout the year.

Toast each other and anything else that brought prosperity and happiness. This also teaches children how to show thanks and start the new year on a positive note.

Share Resolutions

According to most data, about 50 percent of U.S. residents make New Year’s resolutions. Setting goals for the upcoming year can help resolve family conflict, motivate participants to succeed, and bring peace to family and friends.

Siblings may vow not to argue as much. Maybe the family will agree to spend more time together. Whatever the goals for the new year, share them with loved ones and encourage them to do the same.

Celebrate an Early New Years at Home

Not everyone can or wants to stay up until midnight. In fact, families with small children may find themselves trying to calm cranky little ones by 10 p.m.

If midnight doesn’t work, ring in the new year in a different time zone. For example, when it’s midnight in Argentina, it will be 9 p.m. Central Standard Time in the U.S. Celebrating in a different time zone allows parents to put the kids to bed early, and if they want to stay up until midnight, they also have some alone time. View a full list of time zones for New Year’s.

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